Friday, December 21, 2007
Human Anatomy Refresher
Human Anatomy Online, presented by MyHealthScore.com, is an online tutorial that walks the user thought the nine body systems: skeletal, digestive, muscular, lymphatic, endocrine, nervous, cardiovascular, reproductive, and urinary. This tutorial is a great resource for health care students.
The Heart
Interested in learning about the human heart. Your Practice Online has a 3D presentation detailing the structure and function of the heart. The presentation covers the external and internal structures of the heart. This is a valuable resource for students or anyone interested in how our heart functions.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Computer Maintenance - A Few Steps To Speed Up Your Computer's Performance
In my last note, Healthy Computing, I gave some advice on how to keep your computer from getting bogged down with viruses, worms, and spyware. In this note I'll try to explain how to clean your computer if it's already infected. Keep in mind these suggestions are not guaranteed to work, and should only be performed if you are comfortable making some system level changes to your pc. And again, these tips only apply to Windows pc's, preferably Windows XP Service Pack 2.
The following are some steps you can take if you've noticed a decline in your pc's performance:
Prevent Unnecessary Software from Starting: When your computer starts up, so does a number of other software, some necessary, some useful, and some harmful to your systems performance. There's an easy way to prevent the harmful software from starting with your computer, what's difficult is knowing the difference between the useful and the harmful software.
To prevent unnecessary software from starting with your computer you'll want to run the System Configuration Utility, to do this click the [Start] and [Run...] buttons, in the Open: text box, type 'msconfig', and press the {Enter} key. The System Configuration Utility window will appear, click on the last tab, [Startup]. In the Startup tab you are presented with a list of software that starts with your computer. To prevent software from starting when your computer does, simply remove the check-mark in front of the software that you don't want to be started with your computer. Software that you'll want to keep selected is anything related to your anti-virus application, if you are running AVG Anti-virus the startup item will be listed as avgcc, anything related to the Operating System, or anything related to device drivers.
To know what purpose the software serves, and determine whether or not to disable it, you can Google the name of each startup item. This can be a lengthy process, but if you've done this correctly, after a reboot you should notice an increase in your computer's performance.
Remove Unnecessary Programs: Another important step you can take to increase your computers performance is to uninstall any unused, or unnecessary software. To do this open the Add or Remove Programs applet from the Control Panel, look though the list of currently installed programs and remove any software that you no longer use. A reboot is recommend after this step as well.
Remove Spyware: Spyware inhibits your systems performance by collecting data about you and your computer use habits, and sending this data back to the source of the spyware. To remove spyware from your computer you should install and run Lavasoft's Ad-Aware Free (available here: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/ ). Make sure Ad-Aware is up-to-date. To do this click the the [Update] button form the Status page of Ad-Aware. Once you are confident that Ad-Aware is at the current version, click the [Scan Now] button. From the Scan page, make sure that [Smart Scan] is selected, then click the [Scan] button. Once the Smart Scan is complete, place a check-mark in front of each item in the Critical Objects list and the Privacy Objects list, then click the [Remove] button. After all Critical and Privacy objects have been removed, click the [Finish] button. Another reboot, and you should notice an increase in your system's performance.
If you follow these steps correctly, you should notice increased performance from your computer. Remember, the above tips are not guaranteed to correct every problem with your pc, and it's possible that even after completing these steps your computer's performance will not change. Please be careful when performing these steps, most importantly the first one, because disabling a required service could result in your computer not starting at all.
Feel free to ask questions are offer any comments in the comments section. What software do you typically remove from a computer to increase performance? (Answer in the comments section.)
(Disclaimer: Use the above tips at your own risk. I am not responsible for any damage you may do to your computer.)
Published on Facebook 08/13/2007
The following are some steps you can take if you've noticed a decline in your pc's performance:
Prevent Unnecessary Software from Starting: When your computer starts up, so does a number of other software, some necessary, some useful, and some harmful to your systems performance. There's an easy way to prevent the harmful software from starting with your computer, what's difficult is knowing the difference between the useful and the harmful software.
To prevent unnecessary software from starting with your computer you'll want to run the System Configuration Utility, to do this click the [Start] and [Run...] buttons, in the Open: text box, type 'msconfig', and press the {Enter} key. The System Configuration Utility window will appear, click on the last tab, [Startup]. In the Startup tab you are presented with a list of software that starts with your computer. To prevent software from starting when your computer does, simply remove the check-mark in front of the software that you don't want to be started with your computer. Software that you'll want to keep selected is anything related to your anti-virus application, if you are running AVG Anti-virus the startup item will be listed as avgcc, anything related to the Operating System, or anything related to device drivers.
To know what purpose the software serves, and determine whether or not to disable it, you can Google the name of each startup item. This can be a lengthy process, but if you've done this correctly, after a reboot you should notice an increase in your computer's performance.
Remove Unnecessary Programs: Another important step you can take to increase your computers performance is to uninstall any unused, or unnecessary software. To do this open the Add or Remove Programs applet from the Control Panel, look though the list of currently installed programs and remove any software that you no longer use. A reboot is recommend after this step as well.
Remove Spyware: Spyware inhibits your systems performance by collecting data about you and your computer use habits, and sending this data back to the source of the spyware. To remove spyware from your computer you should install and run Lavasoft's Ad-Aware Free (available here: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/ ). Make sure Ad-Aware is up-to-date. To do this click the the [Update] button form the Status page of Ad-Aware. Once you are confident that Ad-Aware is at the current version, click the [Scan Now] button. From the Scan page, make sure that [Smart Scan] is selected, then click the [Scan] button. Once the Smart Scan is complete, place a check-mark in front of each item in the Critical Objects list and the Privacy Objects list, then click the [Remove] button. After all Critical and Privacy objects have been removed, click the [Finish] button. Another reboot, and you should notice an increase in your system's performance.
If you follow these steps correctly, you should notice increased performance from your computer. Remember, the above tips are not guaranteed to correct every problem with your pc, and it's possible that even after completing these steps your computer's performance will not change. Please be careful when performing these steps, most importantly the first one, because disabling a required service could result in your computer not starting at all.
Feel free to ask questions are offer any comments in the comments section. What software do you typically remove from a computer to increase performance? (Answer in the comments section.)
(Disclaimer: Use the above tips at your own risk. I am not responsible for any damage you may do to your computer.)
Published on Facebook 08/13/2007
Healthy Computing - How to Keep Your Computer Running Smoothly
I’m often asked by friends, and strangers, about problems with their computer. By far the most common problem is that of computers that are slow, or unresponsive. So here’s my short prescription of how to keep your computer healthy. This works best if you have a new computer, and can apply these steps before your pc starts to show signs of trouble, but it may also be useful even if your computer is already in the trouble stage.
Operating System: Make sure you are running Microsoft Windows XP Professional, or Home, and that it is at Service Pack 2. If you are running any previous versions of Windows, including XP Service Pack 1, you are leaving your computer susceptible to viruses and worms. Windows Vista may be ok, but I haven’t used it so I wouldn’t feel comfortable recommending it right now. (Also, keep in mind that these tips are for Windows computers. I don’t have any real experience with Mac’s are Linux, so if you are running one of these operating systems you can stop reading now.)
Firewall: Every computer connected to the internet needs a firewall in place to prevent the spread of viruses and worms. (Computer viruses and worms are malicious code that when executed can cause any number of problems, including data loss and computer sluggishness.) Fortunately, if you are running Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 there is already a Firewall included in the operating system, and this is the one I recommend.
Anti-Virus: No matter how good your Firewall is, it’s still possible for viruses to find there way to your system. (There are some things we can do to reduce this risk that will be discussed later.) I currently recommending the latest version of AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition (available here: http://free.grisoft.com/). I recommend this over other Anti-Viruses applications because it works well, it doesn’t use as many system resources as some of the more popular Anti-Virus applications, and it’s free.
Anti-Spyware: Spyware can be installed on your system in a number of ways, and once it’s own your computer it will cause your computer to respond slowly. The application I recommend to remove Spyware from your pc is Lavasoft Ad-Aware Free (available here: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/). There are lots of other Anti-Spyware applications, some that will cause more harm than good, but Ad-Aware has been around for a while, and I find it to be the most reliable.
Web Browser: Most people use Microsoft Internet Explorer for there web browser because it’s included with Windows. However, in my opinion, Mozilla Firefox (available here: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/) is a better alternative. I find that because Firefox is not yet as popular as Internet Explorer it is less of a target for attacks. Firefox is also easy to use, and is able to render nearly all web pages without any problems.
Additional steps that can be taken to prevent computer problems are to be mindful of what you click on while browsing the web, and what additional software you install on your computer.
While these tips are not guaranteed to keep your computer running smoothly, they are steps in the right direction. Again, these tips work best as prevention, if your computer is already experiencing problems there are steps that can be taken to repair your computer, but they are outside of the scope of this note. Feel free to ask any questions, or offer any suggestions are criticisms in the comments section.
Thanks for reading.
Published on Facebook 08/03/2007
Operating System: Make sure you are running Microsoft Windows XP Professional, or Home, and that it is at Service Pack 2. If you are running any previous versions of Windows, including XP Service Pack 1, you are leaving your computer susceptible to viruses and worms. Windows Vista may be ok, but I haven’t used it so I wouldn’t feel comfortable recommending it right now. (Also, keep in mind that these tips are for Windows computers. I don’t have any real experience with Mac’s are Linux, so if you are running one of these operating systems you can stop reading now.)
Firewall: Every computer connected to the internet needs a firewall in place to prevent the spread of viruses and worms. (Computer viruses and worms are malicious code that when executed can cause any number of problems, including data loss and computer sluggishness.) Fortunately, if you are running Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 there is already a Firewall included in the operating system, and this is the one I recommend.
Anti-Virus: No matter how good your Firewall is, it’s still possible for viruses to find there way to your system. (There are some things we can do to reduce this risk that will be discussed later.) I currently recommending the latest version of AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition (available here: http://free.grisoft.com/). I recommend this over other Anti-Viruses applications because it works well, it doesn’t use as many system resources as some of the more popular Anti-Virus applications, and it’s free.
Anti-Spyware: Spyware can be installed on your system in a number of ways, and once it’s own your computer it will cause your computer to respond slowly. The application I recommend to remove Spyware from your pc is Lavasoft Ad-Aware Free (available here: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/). There are lots of other Anti-Spyware applications, some that will cause more harm than good, but Ad-Aware has been around for a while, and I find it to be the most reliable.
Web Browser: Most people use Microsoft Internet Explorer for there web browser because it’s included with Windows. However, in my opinion, Mozilla Firefox (available here: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/) is a better alternative. I find that because Firefox is not yet as popular as Internet Explorer it is less of a target for attacks. Firefox is also easy to use, and is able to render nearly all web pages without any problems.
Additional steps that can be taken to prevent computer problems are to be mindful of what you click on while browsing the web, and what additional software you install on your computer.
While these tips are not guaranteed to keep your computer running smoothly, they are steps in the right direction. Again, these tips work best as prevention, if your computer is already experiencing problems there are steps that can be taken to repair your computer, but they are outside of the scope of this note. Feel free to ask any questions, or offer any suggestions are criticisms in the comments section.
Thanks for reading.
Published on Facebook 08/03/2007
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Adobe Acrobat Typewriter Tool
Ever needed a quick way to fill out an Adobe Acrobat document?
If you're running the Adobe Acrobat Professional 7.05 or higher the Typewriter tool may be for you. The Typewriter tool allows you to enter text anywhere in the document. You can use the Typewriter tool by clicking on the Tools menu, then clicking the Typewriter tool. For more information, see this article in Adobe's knowledge base. The article is for Acrobat Professional 7.0.5, but the Typewriter tool should work the same in version 8.Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Wii Fit
What's a video game got to do with medtech?
While it's not the in-depth coverage of new medical or information technology that I hope to review in the future, Nintendo's Wii Fit does aim to provide its players with a palates-style "core" workout.
Nintendo recently announced the Wii Fit (ESRB Rating Pending), which includes a pressure-sensitive balance board used for playing a variety of games designed to get the player off the couch. Nintendo states, "the board is used for an extensive array of fun and dynamic activities, including aerobics, yoga, muscle stretches and games."
The Nintendo Wii, with it's motion-sensing controls, is already being used in gyms as part of a warm-up or cool-down routine. It seems that Nintendo's non-traditional approach to gaming is gaining some traction with fitness enthuists, and Wii Fit could prove to be the next big thing.1st Post
Thanks for reading. This blog is my attempt at covering the latest medical, technical (computers and the Internet), and med-tech news. It's my goal to become the Leo Leport of medtech news, so check back often for updates. If you have any ideas for stories, or items to be covered, feel free to contact me.
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